The ASUS K8N-E Deluxe Socket 754 Motherboard

Although AMD's socket 939 platform has moved into the mainstream with the recent release of 939-pin Athlon 64 3000+ and 3200+ CPUs, products based on the older socket 754 platform are still in demand.  While the new socket 939 processors have been met with much fanfare (and relatively high price tags), the older socket 754 Athlon 64s have proven to be a solid processor.  And now that lower-speed socket 939 processors have begun to arrive, the older design has started to drop in price, and socket 754 processors have become much more affordable.

While socket 754 will eventually fade away at some point in the future, there is currently no sign that demand has waned.  OEMs are still producing a wide range of boards to accommodate the chip.  The latest of these boards to hit the HotHardware test labs is the ASUS K8N-E Deluxe based on the NFORCE 3 250Gb chipset.  The K8N-E is a culmination of everything good that ASUS has to offer for the Athlon 64.  The K8N-E Deluxe offers a broad range of features delivered by a proven chipset and ASUS has sweetened the deal with some custom options of their own.  Let's take a look.

ASUS K8N-E Deluxe Socket 754 Loaded to the Brim

CPU - Socket 754 for AMD Athlon 64 - AMD64 architecture enables simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing - Supports AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Technology Chipset - NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb System Bus - 800 MHz Memory - 3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets support max. 3GB DDR400/DDR333/DDR266 ECC/non-ECC un-buffered DDR SDRAM memory Expansion Slots - 1 x AGP8X (1.5V only) - 5 x PCI Storage Chipset - 2 x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33 - 2 x Serial ATA, support RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, JBOD Silicon Image Sil 3114 SATA controller: - 4 x Serial ATA - RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, RAID 5, JBOD AI Audio - Realtek ALC850 - 8-channel CODEC - Audio Sensing and Enumeration Technology - Coaxial/Optical S/PDIF out ports on back I/O Gigabit LAN - Chipset built-in Gigabit MAC with external Marvell PHY supporting - 10/100/1000 BASE-T Ethernet IEEE 1394 - VIA VT6307 controller supports 2 x 1394 ports USB 2.0 8 USB2.0 ports AI BIOS CrashFree BIOS 2 Q-Fan 2 Post Reporter AI Overclocking - ASUS JumperFree - CPU, Memory, and AGP voltage adjustable - SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) from 200MHz up to 250MHz at 1MHz increment - Adjustable FSB/DDR ratio. Fixed AGP/PCI frequencies. - ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) Special Features - ASUS MyLogo2 - ASUS Multi-language BIOS - ASUS Instant Music - ASUS EZ Flash

Back Panel I/O Ports - 1 x Parallel - 1 x Serial - 1 x PS/2 Keyboard - 1 x PS/2 Mouse - 1 x 8-channel Audio I/O - 1 x RJ45 - 1 x Optical S/PDIF Output - 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output - 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 - 1 x IEEE1394 Internal I/O Connectors - 2 x USB 2.0 connector supports additional 4 USB 2.0 ports - CPU / Chassis / Power FAN connectors - 20-pin ATX Power connector - 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector - Chassis Intrusion - CD / AUX audio in - IEEE1394 port - GAME/MIDI connector - COM connector - Front panel audio connector BIOS Feature - 4 Mb Flash ROM, AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3 Industry Standard - PCI 2.2 , USB 2.0 Manageability - WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME, Chassis Intrusion Support CD - Drivers - ASUS PC Probe - Trend Micro PC-cillin 2002 anti-virus software (OEM version) - ASUS LiveUpdate Utility Accessories - InterVideo WinDVD Suite Platinum - User's manual - 2 x UltraDMA cables - IDE cable - FDD cable - 4 x Serial ATA cables - 2 x 2-port SATA power cables - 2-port USB2.0 / Game module - I/O shield - IEEE1394 cable Form Factor -ATX Form Factor -12"x 9.6"(30.5cm x 24.5cm)

The K8N-E deluxe comes in a sharp looking box that focuses on ASUS' AI technology.  When we opened up the package, we found a complete retail bundle that gives the user everything needed to successfully install and enjoy their new system.  With multiple IDE and SATA cables, SATA power adapters, USB brackets, I/O Shield and Setup CD with bonus software bundle, the K8N-E Deluxe delivers.

The Setup CD comes with all of the necessary drivers for all of the board's on-board components.  The Utilities tab houses a complete collection of software, most of which is designed to work with the ASUS-specific features of the K8N-E Deluxe.  ASUS includes their Cool'n'Quiet Software for throttling system fans based on temperature.  ASUS PC Probe and Update tools are used for collecting system information as well as updating system drivers and BIOS from within Windows.  ASUS also covered the basics with a free, although dated, copy of Trend Micro's PC-Cillin and NVIDIA's System Utility for overclocking the board from within Windows.  The crown jewel of the software bundle is InterVideo's WinDVD Suite Platinum, a full version suite that provides DVD authoring and playback capability.

The K8N-E's retail bundle covers all aspects of installation and setup nicely.  As a whole, ASUS includes one of the most complete hardware complements you're apt to find with a motherboard.